


Forever Love

by MyChemicalImagines



Series: Ageless Love Series [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gore, Huge Twist!, Language, Mentions of Missing Children, Mentions of Suicide, Potential Scary Aspects (Clown), Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:46:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27258907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyChemicalImagines/pseuds/MyChemicalImagines
Summary: It's been 27 years since the Losers confronted Pennywise. they're back now to defeat him for good. How will Ben and Emily, along with the rest of the Losers, handle this epic showdown. After all, the only thing we have to fear is itself. But is that all they have to fear? The fear of losing a loved one overpowers the fear of fear itself.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom x Emily Hanscom, Ben Hanscom x Emily Tozier, Ben Hanscom x Original Character, Ben Hanscom x Original Female Character, Ben Hanscom x Tozier!Sister
Series: Ageless Love Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990270
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Did you know when they say time flies, it doesn’t actually fly by? It’s just you’re having so much fun to notice time passing you by. How do I know? It’s been 27 years since I began dating the love of my life. It’s been 22 years since we left our home town of Derry, Maine. It’s also been 20 years since the day Ben Hanscom and I said I do.

The last two and a half decades have been very generous to Ben and I. After we left Derry, we moved to New York, and Ben proposed to me. Shortly after that, he started up his architecture company, an endeavor that took two long years. During that time, I went to college online with the scholarships I obtained in Derry and became an accountant. It really helps Ben with his business as well. I love doing the math and making sure everything is correct.

After Ben’s business boomed in the same year he started it, we were married in a small ceremony. While hoping that my little brother, Richie, could make it to the wedding, he didn’t show up. He did send his congratulations though, even though I don’t think he realized it was Ben I was marrying. 

I think he still wanted to be there, even if he couldn’t make it, so he had a really nice, brand new, top of the line, washing machine and dryer delivered to our new home, along with covering our honeymoon trip. Since leaving Derry, he has become a comedian. Something I know he’s always wanted to do since we were children. 

We invited a few friends from high school, but no one came except Mike Hanlon and Stanley Uris. We haven’t spoken to them since. To be completely honest, we haven’t spoken to anyone from Derry since our wedding really. It doesn’t bother us that much. We have each other, and as much as I wish my brother was here, that’s all we really need.

I haven’t thought about Derry in over 20 years. Even though I’ve been having these nightmares, my brain hasn’t connected them to Derry. I don’t see why it would, but then again, I can’t remember if there’s a reason for it to. I keep...I keep seeing a group of people dying over and over. The only ones I recognize are Richie and Ben. I’ve told Ben about these nightmares. He’s stuck by my side and held me every time I’ve cried. 

Without him, I don’t know what I would do. He is my rock. He is my soulmate. I thank the Lord everyday for him entering my life. Today, my brain is completely silent and a small feeling is in my gut. I can’t quite put a name to it. I just have a feeling that something is going to happen but I don’t know what. I sigh and close the dishwasher door.

Turning on the balls of my feet, I glance around the kitchen. I jump a little and giggle as I spot my loving husband behind me. He chuckles softly and places his hands on my waist, steadying me. 

“Sorry, love.” He drawls, leaning down to place a kiss on my forehead. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just came in to kiss my beautiful wife before this dreadful conference.”

“You’re the one that set the meeting this late.” I tease him softly.

“I had to or else it would be late for them. You know how cranky they get if their lunch break doesn’t happen right on time.”

“Oh...yeah...they are worse than a two year old toddler having a temper tantrum just because they got orange juice instead of apple.”

He chuckles and nods. “They really are. And when they get cranky, I do too.”

“And we don’t want that.” I giggle. “Although, that just gives me an excuse to run my hands all over you when I give you a massage.”

He laughs and shakes his head playfully. I place my hands on his chest, my fingertips lightly brushing over the dusting of exposed hair since he’s got his shirt’s top three buttons undone. He looks so damn good in his black blazer, leaving the blazer unbuttoned just as he does with his pressed, white dress shirt. 

He kept his sweatpants on from earlier and rolled up the legs since no one is going to see him from the waist down. He always jokes about how this is the thing he loves most about his job, when he works from home. There have been a few times where I’ve walked into a room while he’s on a conference call with his employees, and while he looks extremely professional in his suit top and jacket, my goofball husband only has his boxers on, which, thankfully, no one else can see.

His short, brown-ish, black hair, looks professional and presentable, even though he and I both know it’s just his ‘fresh out of the shower’ look. I lean up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his, sparks flying through our bodies. He smiles and gently tugs me closer as he happily returns the kiss.

Nearly three decades of being together, two of which have been in holy, blissful matrimony, and our kisses still feel like the first one we shared back in high school. Just as the sparks die down, Ben pulls back slightly, resting his forehead against mine, no doubt that his lips are still tingling, just as mine are.

“That made up for scaring me, Benjamin Hanscom.” I whisper, my tone light and playful.

He chuckles softly. “Well, I’m certainly glad about that, Mrs. Hanscom.”

I giggle and lower myself back down from my tiptoes. Those words always put butterflies in my stomach. He chuckles softly and kisses my head. 

“Perhaps I should make up for any future incidents where I accidentally scare my beautiful wife?” He grins, bringing a hand up to cup my cheek, tilting my head back.

I giggle as he lowers his head, intent on kissing me again, but I gently place my finger over his lips.

“As much as I would love to accept future payments, honey, if we get started on kissing, it’ll end up with our clothes on the floor and us all sweaty and in each other’s arms.” I say.

He smirks and shrugs. “That doesn’t sound that bad to me. I’m all for it!”

I giggle. “I know you are, Ben. But, you don’t have the time-”

He grins and cuts me off with a few softly murmured words. “I always have time for my amazing, beautiful wife. Never doubt that, baby.”

I giggle and playfully swat his chest. “Easy there, mister. You don’t have time right now. You’ve got that call with Twiddle Dee, Twiddle Dumb, and the other hoodlums you employ.”

He laughs. “Yes, ma’am.”

I grin. “Good boy. Go get set up. I’ll bring you your drink.”

“Oh! Thanks! How’d you know that’s what I was coming in here for?”

“I know everything, Benjamin Hanscom.” I smirk.

He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “You’re the best, baby.”

I giggle as he turns and walks out of the kitchen, going to the den where he’s got his desk. Since we have an open floor plan set up, the sounds of him getting his Mac laptop set up echo across the house. I smile to myself and fix him a two finger deep glass of ‘whiskey’, no ice. 

Knowing my husband, he probably won’t drink all of it, maybe take just a sip or two during the entire conference call, but he likes to have it in the camera shot to add to his ‘business professional’ vibe he wants. I don’t question it, since I know neither of us drink alcoholic beverages all that often. And, plus, it’s a ‘whiskey’ in case any of his colleagues ask, but it’s really just my famous sweet tea he loves to drink.

It was something I picked up during our weekend trip to Georgia shortly after we were married. Ben fell in love with the way I made true, Southern sweet tea, and now I make it all the time. I bring his drink to him right as the Skype Video Chat ringtone plays. Setting the glass on his desk next to his laptop, I kiss his head. 

“Remember. It’s your night for dinner. And no cheating by ordering Chinese takeout.” I tease.

He chuckles and leans his head against my stomach for a moment. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll just order pizza.”

I laugh and play with his hair. Before I can reply, the call connects with the others back at the office building. I step out of the camera’s view and wink at him. Ben flashes me a slightly dimpled grin with a wink of his own. As his employees all start with their greetings, I mouth something to my husband.

“I’m gonna go shower. Love you!” 

He grins and nods. His attention gets dragged back to the meeting, and I head up to our room. I take my time in the shower, relaxing, singing, and just enjoying the water pressure. After figuring I’ve spent enough time in there for most of Ben’s meeting to be over with, I climb out, slip on one of his white t-shirts, a pair of my old, comfy, well-worn blue jeans, and grab a towel to dry my hair.

I rub the towel over my hair as I pad across the hardwood floor, and back down the stairs to Ben. Walking into the den, I can hear the other employees informing a new client about Ben’s updated building

“...These buildings will include over a million square feet of commercial and residential space.” Says the man Ben left in charge of the meeting.

Ben called this meeting but he is just overseeing the whole thing. He has a new investor that wants to join in on the company and have Ben create a building for him. I glance over at my husband and see him taking a sip of his “whiskey”. His eyes dart up for a split second, and the moment he sees me, a small smile tugs on his lips. He waves me over with a simple ‘come hither’ crook of his finger. 

I giggle softly and raise a brow, shaking my head. He gives me his best puppy dog eyes, and I bite my lip, grinning from ear to ear and nod. Seeing the small on his face grow, my heart flutters in my chest, as I make my way over to my adorable, goofball of a husband. I lean against the edge of his desk, still out of sight of his coworkers, drying my hair. 

Ben winks at me, making me blush a bright red. He reaches over, placing his left hand on my upper thigh. I smile and run my finger over his wedding ring. He smiles at me, softly rubbing his thumb back and forth across my thigh. I know he always loves to be touching me in at least some way or another.

He likes to say that it helps him relax, and it also lets him know that I’m here, that I’m not just a dream. And, to be completely honest, I love having him touch me, especially if it’s a sweet, simple yet loving gesture like what he’s doing now. I place my hand over his, moving my thumb back and forth over the underside of his wrist, right over his pulse spot. 

“What I’m really looking for is to understand how we create even more retail opportunities. If we put in walls here and all along here…” One of the guys in the video call starts to say.

Ben turns his attention from me to the screen of his laptop, cutting in as he keeps his hand where it is. “Lose them.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Hanscom…” That same employee starts to say.

Ben shakes his head, waving his hand slightly. “Ben and with all due respect to you…” He gestures to the gentleman who suggested walls. “Just looking at this model makes me feel claustrophobic, don’t you?” 

He shivers slightly at the thought. I know my husband, and he hasn’t liked tight, confining spaces since we were teenagers. He doesn’t exactly remember the point when he started to not like them, but that’s ok. We’ve made do over the years. In fact, it’s one of the few reasons why we have an open floor plan for our home.

“Throw up more walls and it will feel like a prison. You know what people want to do in prison?” Ben continues, asking a rhetorical question. “Get out, right? This should be a place that brings people together. A meeting ground...”

His voice falters just the slightest bit as he looks at his wallet, smiling to himself as he runs his thumb over a folded up sheet up paper that’s lived in there for the last 27 years. A sheet of paper I know all too well. I don’t even have to look at it to know he’s looking at the one page of his yearbook that got signed, by one person. 

Me.

By the look on his face, I can tell he’s lost in a memory he does recall. A happy one. I smile to myself, draping the towel around my shoulders, and just watch him. He glances back at the computer screen.

“A Club House.” He says, and I know exactly what he was remembering. “And when people are there…”

He pauses as his phone starts to vibrate on the desk. I glance over at the number, and caller ID. Derry, Maine. Ben and I both share a confused look as he partially picks up his phone. 

“Excuse me for one second.” He says to his coworkers before muting his side of the call and closing the laptop slightly, grabbing his phone. 

He stands up from his desk and walks to the large windows of the room. I push myself away from his desk and follow after him. He opens his arm, silently asking for me to hug him. I hurry over as he answers, putting the call on speaker, so I can hear too. I wrap my arms around his waist as he wraps his arm around my shoulders.

“Hi.” He says.

“Ben, it's Mike Hanlon from Derry.”


	2. Chapter 2

My heart starts pounding in my chest. I feel Ben’s arm tighten around me as he looks toward me. I look up at him as my heart pounds even more, not surprised if Mike or Ben could hear it. I can barely hear anything over the sound of the blood rushing through my ears. 

Why the hell would Mike be calling us? My eyes widen slightly. Has it been 27 years already? Wait, why does 27 years seem so...

“Ben, can you hear me?” Mike says, through the phone.

Ben breaks eye contact with me and looks back at the phone.

“Yeah, sorry. I...Hey, Mike. How’s it going?” Ben tries to start a conversation.

“Ben, is Emily with you?” He asks.

“She can hear you.” Ben says just loud enough for him to hear.

“Guys, you need to come home.” 

As he says this shivers run down my spine and I get goosebumps. 

“Home?” I whisper.

My chest tightens as dread suddenly fills my body. I don’t even remember why but just thinking about Derry makes me want to run straight for the hills, never looking back, and hide away for the rest of eternity. Ben quickly hangs up with Mike before wrapping me in his arms. I grab onto his shirt and look up at him. 

“We have to go back.” I whisper.

He kisses my forehead for a minute before leaning his against my own. 

“Let’s...Let’s pack up and take a few days off work.” 

I nod at his suggestion before walking past him toward our bedroom. I open the door before walking straight to our shared closet after throwing the towel in the laundry bin. Yes, we share a closet. See, I am not a girl who spends all her money on clothes. Just give me either a pair of jeans or sweatpants and I’m at my happiest. 

Ben walks in a few minutes later and quickly shrugs off his blazer and looks at me.

“Babe, do you remember…” He starts.

“What happened in Derry? No.” I whisper. “But I have a bad feeling about this.”

Ben pulls out the suitcases from under the bed while I grab a few outfits for each of us. I smile to myself as I pick up one of his thin button ups.

“Do you remember when you first started wearing these?” I try to take his mind off the phone call and turn around holding it up.

He glances up and chuckles. “Junior year.”

I smirk before nodding. “What happened that day?”

“My mom went on a vacation with a friend of hers and you slept over for the first time. You woke up and put it on. I continued to ask mom for more after that night, you know? After seeing my beautiful, sex haired girlfriend walking around in my button up?” He growls to himself, causing me to laugh. 

“Seriously?” I walk over and put the clothes on the bed. 

“Yes, babe. Even after being married for 20 years...still so fucking sexy.” He bites his lip and looks at me. 

“Even when my tits sag when we first wake up?” I tease.

He smirks and licks his bottom lip. “Not that they do that, but yes. Even then.”

I giggle and walk over to pat his cheek. “Good boy. That was the perfect response.”

He chuckles and leans into my hand making me blush slightly before my eyes widen. He raises an eyebrow.

“What, babe?” 

“We left Bear outside!” I quickly turn around and run out of the room.

I hear him chuckle and follow behind me. 

“Sometimes I swear you love him more than me!” Ben teases.

“He’s my baby! Of course I do!”

His laughter follows me as I run across the room and slide across the floor to the back door. Fuzzy socks are always perfect for that when you have hardwood floors. I see Bear waiting patiently at the door before opening it quickly. I kneel down as he runs through the door and puts his paws on my chest. I start scratching behind his ears and giggle.

“I’m so sorry, buddy! I didn’t mean to leave you out there!!” I whisper in a baby voice. 

His tail starts wagging excitedly and I giggle. He licks my cheek, knocking my glasses off and I kiss his forehead. He barks softly and I scratch his head again before standing up. He barks again before running over to one of his dog beds that Ben keeps under his desk. I fix my glasses with a small smile before jumping slightly feeling strong arms wrap around my waist. 

I lean back against his chest, putting my hands on his that are around me and he kisses my shoulder.

“I can’t wait to see you as a mom.” He whispers. “You’ll be the best mom ever.”

“Really?” I whisper.

He hums softly in assurement before kissing my neck and standing straight.

“Come on. Let’s hurry and get to Derry. When we get back, we’ll give it another shot at having a baby. What do you think?” He pats my hip.

I turn around in his arms and wrap my arms around his neck. “Sounds wonderful to me.” 

His teeth sink into his bottom lip softly before he ducks his head a little, pressing his slightly chapped lips to mine. I smile into the kiss and stand on my tip toes to deepen it slightly. Before he can go any farther, I pull away. He whines a little before looking at me.

“Come on. Let’s go pack.” I giggle.

***

It takes a good eight hours to drive from New York to Maine. Ben and I are exhausted and ready to stay at the Townhouse for a while before dinner. I’m super glad I decided to wear my contacts for the next couple days instead of wearing my glasses. I can fall asleep anywhere with these in. 

I sigh to myself when I receive a text message from Mike telling us to meet him at the Jade of the Orient Restaurant soon. When I inform Ben of the plans, he just smiles, pats my thigh where his hand rests, and takes a detour off the highway. How he remembers the way to get there is beyond me. 

Ben and I decided to see how long it would take the group to figure out we’re married. Mike already said he’ll keep it secret and will make sure to inform Stanley for us...If Stan still remembers. Ben parks in the lot before looking at me with a smile.

“Since you aren’t my wife tonight, may I have a kiss real quick?” He tilts his head, and pulls out his most powerful weapon.

The puppy dog eyes! 

“How can I resist those beautiful, adorable, puppy eyes!”

I giggle after my words and lean toward him. Our lips meet for a split second before my door opens. His eyes snap open and I smirk at him. 

“I’ll see you later, New Kid.” I tease him before getting out of the car.

I giggle to myself when I see him shake his head with a smile. I walk to the front of the restaurant to see a man staring at the sign.

“Sir, are you okay?” I ask, stopping by his side.

He turns toward me and I get a good look at him.

“Stanley?” I ask, softly.

“Emily Hanscom.” He smiles and opens his arms. 

“Oh my God! Stan!” 

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. He chuckles and wraps his arms around my waist, holding me close.

“Don’t worry. I got Mike’s text.” He whispers with a smile. 

“Thanks.” I giggle and pull from the hug. “Wow! You look exactly as I thought you would growing up!”

“Like what?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“A dork!” I giggle, playfully teasing him, just like I used to when we were all younger.

He’s wearing freshly ironed jeans with a cardigan over a plan blue shirt. His hair is styled nicely as if he’s going to meet the President of the United States, instead of a group of old high school friends.

He laughs and shakes his head. “Shut up, Tozier.”

I wink and bite my lip to stop myself from laughing more. 

“Is there a password or something?” I hear the love of my life from beside us.

Stanley and I turn our heads to see Ben walking up with his hands in his pockets.

“Ben!” Stanley smiles.

“Holy shit. Stanley Uris!” Ben hugs him. 

“It’s nice to see you!” Stanley says, pulling away from the hug after a few seconds.

“I don’t remember you being so short.” Ben smirks causing Stan to playfully roll his eyes.

“Have you met Emily Tozier?” Stan puts his hands out to introduce me as if I’m a famous superstar.

Ben and I start laughing. 

“Wow, Emily? That’s you?” He teases.

“Benjamin!” I giggle and open my arms.

He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me in for a tight hug.

“You guys look amazing. What the fuck happened to me?” I hear from my left.

I pull from the hug to see the only member in our group with glasses besides me. Richie. My eyes widen before I smile.

“Hey!” Ben smiles and steps toward him. “Ben.”

“Richie.” Richie introduces himself.

“Yeah.” Ben nods happily and hugs him for a second before pulling away smiling.

Richie looks at me and his mouth drops. “Emily?”

“Hey, little brother.” I walk over to him. 

He wraps his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground. I hug him tightly as a few tears fall down my cheeks. I can’t believe it's been over 20 years since I last saw my brother in person as opposed to video calls. After today, I better see him more often. He puts me down on the ground and we pull away from the hug. He takes off his glasses to wipe his eyes before putting them on again.

“Wow, you look so great.” He smiles.

“You look like shit.” I tease, giggling slightly.

“Hey, I had the good-looking genes when we were kids. You got them now.” He smiles before kissing my cheek. 

He then looks over my shoulder. “Stanley Urine!” 

“Trashmouth!” Stan rolls his eyes and smiles before hugging Richie. 

“Wow! You look like a dork!” Richie laughs.

“That’s what I said.” I laugh.

Richie puts his hand up to me and I happily high-five him.

“Fucking Toziers.” Stan shakes his head before his eyes widen. “Haven’t cussed in 20 years and I’m around the Tozier siblings for 2 minutes and I slip up? I’m out of here.”

He shakes his head before walking into the restaurant. Ben chuckles and gestures toward the building. The three of us walk inside before walking in the direction the nice waitress told us to go. I walk in the small room to the side with Ben behind me. In the center of the room, standing in a circle, is a small group of men, talking quietly amongst themselves. 

I see Richie grab the small mallet and bang it against the gong that’s behind Ben who happens to be standing directly behind me, discreetly keeping his fingertips just barely touching my lower back under my shirt and above the waist of my jeans. The group jumps, one of the men yelps a little, and turns around toward us.

“Is it me or has the Losers Club officially begun?” Richie asks, his tone light and playful.

“Look at these guys!” The shorter of the group in the middle of the room says.

I smile slightly until I see Richie gesture to the group. 

‘This is Ben.’ I see his mouth move before gesturing that Ben used to be fat. 

Ben looks over his shoulder at Richie who quickly stops what he was doing, pretending to be innocent. I roll my eyes before looking at the guy that spoke before.

“Kaspbrak?” I ask softly.

“Emily!” His eyes widen as he smiles. 

I giggle and run over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugs me tightly before pulling away.

“I am so thankful you don’t look like Trashmouth over there!” He smirks softly.

“I’m so thankful you got taller.” I tease.

“Fuck off.” He chuckles and hugs me again.

I laugh and kiss his cheek. I turn to the next one in line to see Mike.

“Nice to see you again after all these years.” I smile before hugging him.

“20 years.” He chuckles and rubs my back. “Thanks for coming.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” I whisper before pulling away. 

The last person I haven’t seen in over 20 years smiles widely at me.

“Bill Denbrough. The famous author.” I bow to him.

He laughs biting his lip before bowing to me. “Emily Tozier. The group babysitter!”

I giggle and hug him tight. “I’ve read all your books!”

“Really?” He pulls from the hug raising an eyebrow. 

“Of course I did! Had to support a friend!” I say, as if we haven’t just spent 20+ years not talking.

“Let me guess? You hate all the endings?” He asks, his shoulders slumping just a little bit.

“Actually I loved the ending to  _ Attic Room _ !” I inform him. “The rest sucked but that book gave me the chills.”

“Well thank you!” He smiles widely before hugging me again.

I giggle and accept the hug. Besides Ben, Bill’s hugs always made me smile and feel safe. I’ll never know why but it always has. I’m glad he showed up for...Wait why are we here again?

***

It’s been 20 minutes and we’re all sitting around the table. Eddie is closest to the door with Ben sitting next to him. I’m sitting next to my husband on my right, giving him a chance to keep his left hand on my thigh, softly stroking my skin over the fabric of my pants, completely hidden from the rest of the group. 

I smile to myself and cover his hand with my right one as I glance my left, looking at Mike. To the left of him is Bill with an empty seat next to him, for Bev, who still hasn’t shown up yet, to his left. 

Richie is next to the seat with Stanley on his left and it closes with Eddie sitting next to Stanley. Mike had ordered appetizers and shots before we showed up which is what we are doing now. We all clink our glasses together before taking the shot. Richie tilts his head back, shot glass in his mouth. 

He puts his head up right after chugging the liquid and drops the glass onto the table.

“So wait! Eddie, you got married?” Richie asks him.

“Yeah. Why is that so fucking funny, dickwad?” Eddie asks, turning toward him.

“What? To like a woman?” Richie asks, his tone mostly playful, but there’s still a little bit of hope mixed with disappointment as he awaits our friend’s response.

Eddie glares at him before pointing his chopstick in his direction. “Fuck you, bro.”

Everyone at the table laughs at their antics.

“Fuck you!” Richie yells loudly after laughing.

“What about you, Trashmouth?” Bill asks, putting some food into his mouth. “Are you married?”

“There is no fucking way!” I say over everyone’s laughter.

“No, I got married.” Richie says, looking over at him. 

“Rich, I don’t believe you.” I shake my head.

“No way!” Stanley looks at him.

“When?” Bill asks, leaning back into his seat.

“You didn’t hear about this?” Richie asks, with sadness in his voice.

“No.” Eddie shakes his head.

Richie looks over at him. “You didn’t hear I got married?”

His eyes are widened as if this was the most serious thing that has ever been talked about between us all. 

“No.” Eddie shakes his head again. 

“Your mother and I are very, very happy right now.” Richie says with a straight face, before laughing hard. 

Bill chokes on his drink and sprays beer onto the table. I stomp my feet and laugh along with everyone else except for Eddie who shakes his head.

“He totally fell for it!” Richie laughs.

“Fuck you.” Eddie says, with seriousness on his face as he holds his drink.

Richie smirks and puts his arm on the back of Bev’s empty seat.

“She is so sweet. Sometimes she’ll put her arm around me and she’ll whisper to me...She’ll go…” 

He then starts doing a Jabba the Hutt impression causing everyone to laugh even harder. I cover my mouth and nose to stop the snorts from coming out as I laugh harder than I have in years. 

“We all get it. My mom is a great, big fat person.” Eddie fake laughs. “Hilarious! Hysterical!”

“Wait! Let’s talk about the elephant not in the room.” Richie gestures to Ben. “Ben. What the fuck, man?”

Ben is taking a drink from his beer, smirking, and trying really hard to hold in his laughter. He knows what’s coming, and he sets his glass down, still smirking. One of his dimples shows a little, bobbing his head slightly.

Everyone around us starts agreeing but I can tell Mike and Stanley are just agreeing because everyone else is. They’ve seen him this thin so it’s nothing new to them.

“Okay, okay.” Ben chuckles. “Obviously I lost a few pounds.”

“Yeah, you did.” Stanley nods.

“No shit.” Eddie playfully rolls his eyes.

“You are like...You’re hot. You are like every Brzilian soccer player wrapped into one.” Richie informs him, causing everyone to laugh.

Ben bites his lip with a smile as he blushes.

“Stop, you’re embarrassing him.” I giggle, rubbing Ben’s back, smiling when he relaxes against my touch the slightest bit.

“You had to have gotten married.” Richie leans back in his chair throwing his arms out.

“I did.” Ben nods, smiling, gently patting my thigh under the table. 

“Really?” Bill leans up in his seat. 

“You guys actually know her.” He smirks slightly. 

“Who is she?” Bill asks.

“Is it Gretta?” Eddie asks, quickly, clearly thinking of the only other girl besides Bev and I that we actually knew in school.

“You married Gretta?” Richie fake gags. “Gross!”

“Oh, hell no.” Ben shakes his head. “Never in a million years!”

“Then who?” Richie asks before thinking to himself.

No says anything for a moment before Bill snaps his fingers.

“You were dating Emily back then, right?” 

“Yeah! Because you used to come around the house all the time. Man, our parents loved you!” Richie agrees with him.

“We did.” I nod before discreetly biting my lip.

“Wait, you got married too, didn’t you?” Richie raises an eyebrow. “I sent you presents!”

“I did.” I glance at Ben before looking at my little brother.

There is another pregnant pause before Bill throws his chopsticks down at his plate slightly.

“Holy shit! They married each other!” He shouts slightly pointing to us.

Ben and I start laughing along with Stanley and Mike. They finally figured it out!

“When?” Bill asks, excitedly.

“20 years, last month.” I answer with a smile. 

“Shit! You never told me!” Richie’s eyes widen. 

“We haven’t actually spoken in years, aside from a few video chats here and there, when Ben happened to be at work.” I giggle before gesturing to Stan and Mike. “They came.”

“You didn’t invite us?” Eddie puts his hand on his chest as if he’s hurt.

“You didn’t invite us to yours, Eddie Spaghetti!” I tease him causing him to roll his eyes at the old nickname.

“We did!” Ben chuckles, putting his arm behind me on my chair. “Only those two showed up.”

Stanley nods fast. “It was a lot of fun.”

Mike nods in agreement. “They had some great shit! It was like an actual party more than a wedding!”

“Holy…Two Losers got married.” Bill smiles widely.

Eddie’s head snaps to Richie. “You didn’t go to your own sister’s wedding?!”

“I had a show in California that night!” Richie puts his hands up in defense.

“Good excuse.” Eddie rolls his eyes.

“Why didn’t you go?” Richie shoots back.

“My mom…” Eddie starts.

“Of course, your mom wouldn’t let you!” Richie rolls his eyes.

“Hey! My mom’s really protective! And she needed my help.”

“To rub her feet?” I speak up.

This causes everyone to scream with laughter. Ben pats my thigh, shaking his head, playfully. I giggle and cover his hand with mine again since I’d moved it a little bit ago to grab my drink and flip one of the guys off as they cracked a silly joke. Ben smiles and flips his hand over, sliding his fingers between mine, and holding my hand.

Ben starts chuckling as someone else makes another joke to Eddie. “Okay, please. Guys, come on! Is Bev coming or what?”

He gestures toward Bev’s empty seat which causes all of our hearts to drop slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see my twist?:]


	3. Chapter 3

I look over at the spot we have reserved for Bev, the still, and only empty, chair at the table, next to Bill. We’ve been here for at least an hour and she still hasn’t shown up. 

“Beverly Marsh.” Bill whispers, staring at her seat.

“Beaverly Marsh.” Richie says, pulling out her old nickname from Gretta. “No, she’s a bitch. She won’t come.”

“She wasn’t that bad.” Stanley says, glancing at everyone.

Eddie shrugs. “Why does Bev have to save you, anyway? Wasn’t Em the one who has to perform surgery…” Eddie gently smacks Ben’s arm as he remembers something. “When Bowers cut you up! Holy shit! That’s right!”

Since Ben and I have been going to the gym and he’s gotten fit, the scar has shrunk so it’s barely even there. I haven’t noticed it in over 20 years so I totally forgot about him even being cut open, despite it being the first time that Ben and I actually were super close together. Bill looks over at me.

“Please say you became a doctor? You were always fixing us up when we got hurt.” He says, taking a drink of his beer.

I giggle and shake my head. “No. I became an accountant.” 

“Boring!” Eddie calls out. 

“What about you, asshole?” I smirk. “Housekeeper?”

He shrugs. “No…I’m a risk analyst.”

“Sounds interesting. What exactly does that entail?” Richie asks, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed.

“Yeah so I work for a big insurance firm…” He starts but Richie closes his eyes and starts snoring as his head falls back. “Fuck you, dude. Fuck you.”

Richie and I start laughing. I stand up from my seat, keeping my right hand laced with Ben’s and put my left hand out to Richie. He stands up and happily high-fives me as he laughs. We both sit back down as Eddie shakes his head.

“Fucking Toziers.” He mumbles.

“Hey, I may be a Hanscom now, but once a Tozier always a Tozier!” I smirk again.

“Fucking right!” Richie laughs. “But was that job created before fun?”

“Oh, that is so not funny.” Eddie glares at him. 

“It is funny.” Stanley speaks up causing Ben to laugh even more.

Eddie turns to my husband and glares at him before snapping. “What the fuck are you laughing at?”

“Your face.” I speak up, putting some food into my mouth.

Mike, who has been quiet pretty much this entire night, busts out in laughter. I smirk to myself before grabbing my soda and holding it out towards the center of the table, cutting off what Eddie was about to say.

“I propose a toast.” I smile. “To the Losers.”

Everyone puts their drinks up and clinks them together with mine. We all start to have an even better time than we were just having. Joking around and eating the food Mike’s paid for. Eddie smarts off to me once again and I come up with a plan. I stand up and lean toward him, making him stand up as well. 

Our lips end up real close together. Just a breath’s distance apart.

“Woah!” Everyone calls out, chuckling, Ben being the loudest. 

I quickly lift my chopsticks and drop a piece of lettuce into his mouth causing everyone to laugh even harder. Ben knows I’d never do anything like that especially with Eddie. I sit down, laughing before reaching for the last dumpling. Bill quickly spins the lazy susan around and grabs the dumpling.

“Jerk.” I playfully call out.

“Snooze you lose!” He calls out, quickly shoving it in his mouth and eating it.

I shake my head, giggling. Stanley changes seats with Richie so Richie and Eddie can have a wrestling match. Richie wins but I’m not very surprised. Since we’re all completely full the waitress brings us our fortune cookies as we all continue to talk. I lay my head on Ben’s shoulder after he wraps his arm around my chair. 

Bill and Stanely’s conversation is heard on our side of the table making Ben lift his head and look over.

“It’s very weird, right?” He speaks up, rubbing my shoulder. “Now that we’re all here. Everything keeps coming back faster and faster. Like...All of them.”

I nod against him while looking toward the bowl in the middle of the table.

“When Mike called me, I threw up. Isn’t that weird?” Richie chuckles softly. “I got nervous, sick and threw up.” He glances around the table. “I’m fine now. Glad to be here with you guys...Why is everybody looking at me like this?” 

“When Mike called, I crashed my car...” Eddie glances around the table. 

“Seriously?” Bill’s eyes widen slightly.

“My heart was like pounding literally out of my chest…” Ben hits his chest lightly right where his heart is.

“Glad to know I wasn’t the only one.” I whisper before biting my lip.

“It felt like f-f-f-...” Mike cuts off Bill, saving him now that he’s started stuttering again.

“Fear.” He looks at him. “It’s fear...what you felt.”

“Why do we all feel this way, Mike?” Bill whispers. “You remember something that we don't, right, Mike?”

“Something happens to you when you leave this town. The farther away the easier it gets. But me?” He shrugs. “I never left. So, yes, I remember. I remember all of it.”

“Pennywise.” I whisper as a name flashes through my mind.

“That fucking clown.” Eddie gasps for breath.

“Shit.” Ben puts his face into my hair.

“Mike, you said you wanted our help with something. What was that?” Bill turns to him. 

“There’s an echo here in Derry that bounces back…” Mike starts.

“Every 27 years.” Stanley glances up.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie asks, seemingly somewhat piecing together the real reason why Mike called us back to Derry.

“Wait, listen…” Mike puts his hands out before grabbing a small book. 

“I don’t want…” Eddie starts.

“We thought we stopped him back then. We thought it was done…” He starts turning pages in the book.

“Mike…” Stanley shakes his head. 

“A week ago...a man...Adrian Mellon was slaughtered. A girl, Lisa Aubrich, the other night went missing. They are not the only ones and there will be more.” Mike informs us.

Everyone besides Ben and I starts trying to talk over Mike as he starts rambling some more. Ben sits up and puts his right arm out toward everyone while keeping his left around me.

“Let him…” He tries to say.

“We need another drink.” Bill puts his hand up for the waitress.

“Let him explain!” Ben says, loudly. “Just shut up and let him explain.”

This causes everyone to shut up and look at Mike.

“That echo, we might’ve changed it. Just like it changed us, but we didn’t stop it. Because it just bounced back…” He pauses before speaking again. “We made an oath. That’s why I brought you back. That’s why you’re here. To finish it, for good.”

There’s a small pause before Richie speaks up.

“That shit got dark fast. Thanks, Mike.” Richie drops his head in his hands.

No one says anything until Eddie reaches into the bowl of cookies and takes one. Eddie shakes his head after opening it.

“My fortune cookie just says ‘could’.” 

I raise an eyebrow while taking one with everyone else. Everyone begins to open theirs and when I read mine my eyes widen. I sit back in my seat just staring at the small paper. I cover my mouth as a few tears fall down my cheeks. What...What’s going on?

“They don’t know how to do fortune cookies here. Mine says ‘guess’.” Richie holds up his paper.

Bill stands up after opening his and puts his hand out to Richie.

“You wanna throw that over here.” 

Richie hands him his paper while Stanley speaks up.

“Mine says ‘Losers’.” He hands his to Bill as well. “What do you got, Mike?”

Bill starts arranging the small papers into a sentence trying to figure out what it’s saying. 

“What is it?” Eddie asks, standing up.

“It says ‘guess not could it losers’.” Richie reads from the table.

“It’s a message.” Mike looks at Bill.

“A message?” Stanley raises an eyebrow.

“Guess it could not cut Losers.” Richie reads again.

“Why would it guess could not?” Eddie looks at him.

“That makes no sense.” Stanley shakes his head.

“Losers guess it could not cut.” Richie shrugs. “I don’t know what it means.” 

Ben stands up and reaches over me to fix the message.

“It goes in the beginning,”

“It could not guess Losers?” Eddie looks up.

“When it’s talking about it...Is it talking about IT?” Stanley glances around.

“Where does this go?” Ben points to one of the words.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Mike gestures to the table.

“You fuck with the fortune cookies, Mike?” Richie snaps.

“No!” He shakes his head.

“Well…” Richie starts but Ben cuts him off.

“Let him speak, man!”

“Was not me!” Mike shakes his head. “This is what...IT does.”

Richie and Eddie start yelling over everyone else.

“Where is my inhaler?” Eddie starts searching his pockets.

I’ve been staring at the piece of paper in my hand for so long that Ben starts to realize that I haven’t moved.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” He rubs my shoulder.

“Not funny!” Stanley shakes his head at the message. 

I bite my lip and slowly lay the piece of paper onto the table. Everyone’s eyes widen as they see what mine was. BEVERLY. Bill takes the piece of paper and lays it down before rearranging the message. In the end, the message reads.  **_‘GUESS BEVERLY COULD NOT CUT IT LOSERS’_ ** .

“Why is Bev’s name there?” Eddie looks at everyone but no one answers him. “Would someone fucking answer me?” He slams his hand onto the table. “Shit! Shit!”

He sighs before the bowl of cookies starts shaking. Everyone gasps and jumps back slightly. 

“What is that?” Stanley whispers.

One of the cookies jumps out of the bowl in front of Mike, who is still beside me. 

“What the fuck is that, man?” Richie yells, sliding his chair backward.

The cookie starts to crack open to reveal a cockroach, slug, human baby combination thing. I gag and sit back against Ben, trying to get as far away from it as I can. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. The baby cockroach slug starts to run at Mike which causes him to stand up and yell. More cookies fly out of the bowl, landing on each side of the table. 

The one in front of Richie opens up to reveal an eyeball with all the veins still attached. 

“Hey! Hey! That fortune cookie is looking at me!” Richie yells.

I scream and jump up from my seat with Ben when the cookie in front of us opens to reveal a batwing. He starts flying at Eddie, Ben and I. We back into the corner and Ben steps in front of me.

“I don’t want to be here! I want to go home!” Eddie yells, covering his face. 

Ben completely ignores Eddie and starts swinging at the batwing when it gets too close to all of us. I bury my face into the back of his shirt, trying not to see the mess happening in front of us.

“Dammit!” I hear Richie yell before he gets louder. “EMILY! EDDIE!”

I hear a sizzling noise and I look up just slightly, keeping my face buried into Ben’s shirt as he swings. The bowl of cookies is starting to leak blood that is burning the table and the message we had just figured out. A second later, heads appear into the aquarium behind Richie and Bill.

“Richie!” I call out.

He looks up before looking over his shoulder as the heads begin to sing. He screams and steps away.

“It’s not real.” Mike whispers before grabbing a chair. “It’s not real!”

He begins to hit the table with said chair, chanting those very words. 

“Everything alright?” We hear from the doorway.

Suddenly everything that IT did is gone and the table only has the now broken fortune cookies. We all turn and look, seeing the waitress stare at us like ‘I’m not cleaning that up. I don’t get paid enough for that’.

“Yeah, can you give us the check?” Richie speaks up. 

Ben turns around and pulls me into his chest. I grab onto his shirt and shake my head. 

“This can’t be happening. We should be at home with Bear on the couch, watching stupid movies…” I whisper so only he can hear.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. This will end soon…” He kisses my head.

Since Mike already paid for everything, we grab our jackets and leave the room. Ben pulls me into his side to keep me close.

“Pennywise always plays with us.” Eddie speaks up as we walk. “Bev is probably fine!”

“Mike, do you have her number?” I glance at him.

Before he can answer, a child’s voice is heard behind all of us.

“Hey, Richie!”

We all turn around to see a small curly haired boy, smiling widely.

“How do you know my name?” Richie raises an eyebrow.

“The fun is just beginning, right?” The small boy continues to smile innocently.

“What did he say?” I ask, looking at Richie.

“Do you think it’s fun?” Richie snaps, walking to the boy whose smile completely disappears. “Do you think this is a game? Fuck you!”

“Be careful, Rich.” I say, praying it’s not Pennywise again.

“Fuck you!” Richie grabs the kid and points at his face. “I’m not afraid of you!”

“The fun is just beginning. That’s what you say in your act, dude. I’m your fan.” The boy speaks up.

A couple and a little girl walk up behind the small boy.

“They are your parents?” Richie asks, softly.

“Yes.” The kid nods.

“Do you want a picture?” Richie asks, with fake happiness.

“Are you okay, Dean?” The father of the child asks.

The boy nods before looking at Richie. “I think I’m good.”

He removes his arm from Richie and walks back to his parents who walk away. Richie stands up and we all start walking toward the door again.

“Jesus, Richie. Don’t you remember a line from your own show?” Ben glances at him.

“I don’t write my own material.” Richie mumbles.

“I knew it!” Eddie yells. “I fucking knew it!”

We make it outside and Mike gives me Bev’s number so I call it from my cell phone. A man answers the phone.

“Hi, is this Beverly Marsh’s husband? I’m Emily Hanscom. I’m sorry to bother you but I’m an old friend.” I say while the boys have a conversation beside me.

“You lied to us.” Eddie shakes his head at Mike. “This is not okay.”

“Yeah! The first words out of your mouth should have been ‘hey man you want to come to Derry to be murdered?’ Because I would have said no.” My brother says.

“Guys.” Ben says, gesturing to me since I’m on the phone.

“It was a trap.” Richie speaks up.

“She passed away.” Bev’s husband says into the phone.

My eyes widen as a memory of my nightmare flashes by my eyes. 

“When did this happen?” I speak up after a second.

“Yesterday.” He says. “She died in a terrible way. She cut her wrists…”

“In the bathtub.” I whisper before the man even finishes.

“In the bathtub.” He finally says causing Ben’s head to snap up. “Sorry I have to go.”

“We are very sorry.” I say, softly.

“Thank you.” He hangs up and I stare at my phone.

Ben walks over and rubs my back.

“Beverly...Pennywise knew this...Before us.” Stanley looks up. 

“We have to stop it.” I whisper before glancing at Ben.

“I have a plan.” Mike holds up his book again.

“I have a plan. To get the fuck out of dodge before this ends worse than one of Bill’s books. Who’s with me?” Richie raises his hand which has Eddie doing the same.

“We made a promise.” Mike sighs.

“Then, let’s unmake the promise.” Richie says, as if that was possible.

“Richie, more people will die.” Ben speaks up, rubbing my back again.

“People die everyday!! We don’t owe this town shit!” He starts backing up slowly toward his car. “And I remember I grew up here like two hours ago. I’m fucking leaving. Fuck this!”

Eddie shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I agree with Richie.”

“Guys, please.” Mike practically begs.

“What about your sister, man?” Ben calls over to Richie. 

“She’s fine! Look at her. She’ll go home and be safe! You protect her!” He shakes his head.

“We stay, we die. That’s it? I’m going to the Inn, pack up my shit and then I’m going to drive to my home.” Eddie shakes his head. “Sorry, good luck.”

“Eddie, please!” Mike calls out.

Richie and Eddie both get into their cars before driving away. I shake my head with a tear rolling down my cheek. We have to stay. I...I can’t let this happen any longer while I’m alive. I know...I know what’s gonna happen if we leave.

“You okay?” Ben looks down at me.

“I’m ready to go to the town house too. You coming?” I ask, looking at Stanley and Bill.

“No. I came all this way. I...I’m not leaving.” Stanley shakes his head.

“You should have told us, Mikey.” Ben sighs before ushering me to our car. 

We get inside and I buckle up before he starts driving. I can tell Ben has something on his mind but I cut off his thoughts.

“Ben, we should stay…”

“Why? So we can die too? I’d rather be with my wife at home, trying to make our first born…”

“Like you said, more people are going to die…” I sigh.

“How about this? If everyone leaves then we’ll leave. If they stay...we’ll stay as well…” He reaches over and takes my hand into his.

“Deal.” I nod, before squeezing his hand softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you want me to continue. Feedback=Chapters!


	4. Chapter 4

We all make it back to the Townhouse besides Bill, Mike and Stanley. Richie and Eddie run right into the building and toward the stairs.

“Let’s get our shit and get the fuck out of here…” My brother mutters as he runs up the stairs.

Eddie glances over his shoulder at us. “Did you leave your stuff here?”

“No, our things are in the car.” Ben shakes his head.

I shake my head. I can’t do this. I walk straight to the bar and grab a water bottle from the mini fridge. Ben walks over and leans against the bar.

“Tell me.” He whispers.

I open the bottle before raising my eyebrows.

“What?”

“Whatever it is that you’re afraid to tell me right now. Em, back at the Jade, when you called Beverly’s husband…” He pauses. “He told you he found her in the bathtub but I saw you and heard you. You said it first.”

I take in a deep breath and sigh. Richie walks into the room cutting off my thoughts.

“Whatever you love birds are talking about, let’s make it happen fast, alright? We have to go.” He walks back and calls out toward the stairs. “Edwardo! Andele! Let’s go!”

“There’s something you’re not telling us.” Ben speaks up, his eyes never leaving me. “You knew how Bev died.”

“Wait, what?” Richie walks back into the room.

I shake my head and bite my lip, not ready to tell them how...I knew Bev was dead. I gently push past my husband and my brother, walking out of the room.

“She knew how Bev was gonna die, is that what you just said?” Richie asks, confused.

“Babe!” Ben calls out causing me to stop in my tracks. “You can’t just walk away from this. How did you know where she killed herself? Em? Talk to me, honey. Please. Let’s talk like we always do. How did you know?”

I slowly turn around and look at Ben, our eyes connecting. “Because I saw it. I saw all of us die.” I pause before sniffling. “My nightmares, Ben…”

“That...that’s your nightmares?” I nod at his question. “Shit.”

He walks forward and pulls me against his chest gently, holding me close to him. Eddie walks down the stairs with two large rolling suitcases in his hands. 

“I just need to grab my toiletry bag then we can leave.” He pauses as he sees all three of us. “What did I miss?”

Ben ushers all of us to the sitting room nearby and explains what just happened. I sit down on the small couch and stare into the distance slightly, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone.

“What do you mean you saw us all die?” Eddie starts to pace across the room. 

“Yeah, because I got to be honest, sis, that’s a fucked up thing to just drop on somebody.” Richie leans against the bar in the room.

“Every night since Ben and I left Derry...I have nightmares.” I sigh as Ben puts his hand on my shoulder. “People with pain, dying...People…”

“So, you have nightmares. I have them too! Everyone has them!” Eddie tries to say.

“It’s been every single night since we moved, Eddie. There can’t be some kind of coincidence.” Ben sticks up for me.

“But that does not mean that her visions are true!” Eddie snaps slightly.

“Hey! Don’t yell at my sister, man.” Richie glares over at Eddie.

“I watched every single one of us this week…” I whisper.

“You saw every single one of us, what?” I hear from behind me.

I glance over to my shoulder to see Bill, Stanley and Mike have walked into the room. Bill sits down next to me and takes my hand, trying to calm me down. Ben is the only thing even keeping me from bursting out into tears.

“Go to the place Beverly wound up.” I whisper. “That’s how we end.” 

“How come the rest of us ain’t seeing that shit? What makes my sister so different?” Richie glances around.

“The deadlights.” Mike speaks up after a second.

“The d-d-deadlights!” Bill stands up. “She was the only one that got caught in the deadlights that day.” 

“You mean when she was hanging in the air?” Stan asks, softly.

“Yeah! We were all touched by it. It changed us but she was the only one that actually saw it! Deep down it’s like an infection or virus.” Mike explains.

“V-virus?” Bill raises an eyebrow.

“Do you understand? The virus has been growing for 27 years, this whole time metastasizing. It got to Bev first because…” Mike sighs.

“Because she was the weakest.” Richie says.

“Jesus Christ, Rich.” Bill shakes his head.

“I just said what everyone else was thinking, man.” Richie shrugs.

“But she was stronger than all of us.” I glance up at everyone.

“Something must have happened to her in the last 27 years.” Mike says. “What Emily sees will come to pass. It’s what will happen to all of us eventually. Unless we stop it.”

“Are you saying my sister will die before us all?” Richie steps forward.

“No.” Mike shakes his head.

“I ain’t fucking letting that happen, man.” Richie snaps slightly.

“The Indian Chud ritual.” Stanley speaks up.

“The Shakpewa! The first one’s that fought it. They have a saying, ‘all living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit’!” Mike nods.

“A tribal ritual? Are you fucking kidding me, man? There’s got to be another way. I don’t want my sister to die but this thing comes back, what, every 27 years? Let’s kick the can and let’s do it then.” Richie tries.

“Then we’ll be 70 years old, asshole.” Eddie rolls his eyes.

“This is not how it works. None of us will live another 20 years...And...The way it happens…” I speak up, biting my lip.

“If we don’t defeat it this cycle, then…” Ben looks at me.

“We die…” Bill whispers.

“Horribly.” Eddie mumbles.

“You don’t have to mention the horrible part.” Richie glances up.

“She said it, not me.” Eddie gestures to me.

“Well, guys, look. We saw w-w-what he’s talking about…” Bill starts.

“And it’s all true.” Stanley speaks up.

“It’s the only way.” Bill glances around.

“If we want this ritual to work…” Stanley crosses his arms.

“We have to remember.” Mike looks at all of us.

“Remember what?” Richie raises an eyebrow.

“It’s better if I show you. We don’t have much time. This cycle will end soon. And once it does…”

“Then we’re fucked.” Eddie shakes his head. 

The next few hours is us walking through the town, going through old stops that start jogging our memories. We first went through the area we’re the festival was then Mike took us through the area where Henry tried to kill him...where the rock fight happened. I squeeze Ben’s hand, remembering he technically threw the first rock that started the first...He tried defending my honor.

He smiles down at me before kissing my head. Lastly, Mike walks through the trees of the woods in town causing my eyes to light up.

“The Barrens!”

“This is where we came!” Ben looks around the area at the trees. “After the rock fight.”

“The clubhouse.” Richie smiles and looks at everyone.

Ben lets go of my hand and walks forward into the small area. 

“You built that for us.” I smile widely. 

“The hatch has to be here some place.” My brother pats my arm before walking toward Ben.

“I do remember that.” Stanley smiles.

“You know what? I do think the door was more like...around…” Ben says, looking at the ground before stomping slightly.

I gasp loudly as Ben falls straight through the ground and lands with a loud thunk. I run over and look into the hole to see him lying on his stomach.

“Ben? You okay?” I call down to him.

“Yeah.” He pushes himself up and looks around. “I’m okay! Come down!”

I start to climb down the ladder we used to use before as a memory flashes through my mind.

_ I plant my feet onto the dirt and smile at 13 year old Ben as he stands, smiling. I move out of the way as my little brother walks down the ladder after me. Walking inside a little further, I look at a poster Ben had hung on the wall. _

_ “What the dick is this? How did you build it?” He asks, walking further into the small underground room. _

_ “When did you build it?” Bill asks, glancing around.  _

_ “Here and there. It was already dug out from someone. I just reinforced the walls and got some wood for the door. That’s it. Good for my first time, huh?” Ben smiles before putting his hand up, leaning against a pillar. _

_ I jump as the pillar moves causing part of the ceiling to come down next to me. _

_ “Now that was a cool feature. What happens if you put your hand on the other pillar, Professor?” Richie asks, sarcastically. _

_ “Beep Beep, Richie.” I roll my eyes. _

_ Eddie starts pacing around the clubhouse, shaking his head. “That is why there are safety codes. Why we have permits! This place is a death trap, do you understand that?” _

_ “It’s a work in progress, Eddie.” Ben states. _

_ “Just so you know, if I get hurt then you’re reliable.” Eddie turns and hits something hanging from a line. “What is this? A switch from the Iron Maiden?” _

_ “That’s a flashlight.” Ben sighs. _

_ Eddie continues to walk. “What is this? Horse’s hitch? Since when do you have horses down here? Oh this is great.” _

_ He picks up a paddle ball, smiling.  _

_ “It costs like three dollars. Be careful with that please.” Ben mumbles. _

_ “I have one of these” Eddie smiles before hitting the ball against the paddle at a fast rate. “Hey, Stan, you see this?” _

_ Stanley covers his face slightly. “Yeah, can you maybe not?” _

_ “Wait. Don’t you want to have fun with the magic of the paddle ball?!” Eddie hits it at such a rate that the string breaks causing Ben to sigh and look down. “Wow. Good going fucknut! You broke his thing.” _

_ “I broke it?” Stanley raises an eyebrow. _

_ “Yes, you broke it with your face.” Eddie rolls his eyes. _

The memory fades as Eddie reaches down and grabs the ball from the hole in the floorboards. He blows on it and stands up. Stanley looks up and starts laughing as Eddie hands him the ball.

“By the way…” Stanley looks at Eddie. “You broke it.”

“You did, asshole!” Eddie shakes his head. 

“Hey, Losers.” We all hear a deeper voice causing our heads to snap up. “Time to float.”

Ben, who was looking at old comic books, throws it down before pushing me behind him. Mike picks up a stick that was on the ground while everyone else gets into defensive positions. Suddenly, Richie walks out of the dark area of the clubhouse, laughing. We all let out a breath of relief while Bill backs up causing him to hit his head on the pillar above him.

“Fuck, Richie!” Bill holds his head. 

“Dude!” Eddie snaps, slightly.

“Didn’t he say that shit? Maybe with a dance?” Richie asks before smiling widely, waving his arms back and forth in front of his chest slowly. “Am I the only one who remembers this shit?”

“Are you going to be like this the entire time we’re home?” Eddie asks, tilting his head.

“I try to lighten the atmosphere a bit.” He starts walking to another part of the clubhouse. “I’ll just go fuck myself.”

“It smells really bad in here.” Stanley glances around.

“Hey, Stan, look at what I found.” Bill smiles, holding up a can before reading it. “This belongs to Stan. For Losers use only.”

His eyes widen and he starts chuckling. He takes the can from Bill and opens it before pulling out a shower cap. I start laughing as a memory flashes through my mind. Ben wraps his arm around me as the same memory flashes through his eyes. 

_ Richie is laying in the hammock reading a comic book when Stanley walks over to him. _

_ “What the fuck is this?” He stares at the shower cap Stanley offers him. _

_ “So you don’t get spiders stuck in your hair down here.” Stan smiles. _

_ “Stanley, we are not afraid of fucking spiders.” Richie glances around Stan to see everyone is wearing theirs. “I stand corrected.” _

_ Eddie takes his off, embarrassed. _

_ “That’s a first.” Bev laughs, lighting her cigarette. _

_ “Touche.” Richie looks back at his comic book.  _

_ Eddie gets up from his spot before walking over to Richie with his arms crossed. _

_ “Rich, your ten minutes are up.”  _

_ “What are you talking about?” Richie raises an eyebrow. _

_ “The hammock. Ten minutes each was the rule.” He smacks his hand with his word. _

_ “I don’t see any sign.” My little brother rolls his eyes. _

_ “Are you seriously being this way right now? Really? No, no, no, no. Why would there be a sign if there was a verbal agreement.” Eddie starts to freak out. _

_ “I didn’t agree on anything.” Richie looks back at his book. _

_ “We made a deal!” Eddie snaps before climbing into the hammock with him. _

_ “I see your vagina!” Richie says as Eddie flings his legs over his head. _

_ “Ten minutes for everyone!” _

_ “I fucked your mom!” Richie says his usual comeback. _

_ “No, you didn’t” Eddie snaps. _

_ I roll my eyes and walk over to Ben as he starts to hammer a nail into a pillar. _

_ “You’re good at this, New Kid.” I smile.  _

_ “You really think so?” He blushes. “There’s actually a summer course in Bar Harbor that teaches you all about architecture. I was thinking about applying.” _

_ Before I can speak, my brother calls over to us. _

_ “I’ll go do that. I will do anything to get the hell out of Derry.” _

_ Mike sits down on the swing Ben put up yesterday with a small smile. “Man, when I graduate, I’m going to Florida.” _

_ “What’s in Florida, Mike?” Ben asks, looking at him.  _

_ “I don’t know.” Mike shrugs. “It’s just a place I’ve always wanted to go.” _

_ “Stan, you should go to Florida with Mike. You already act 80. You can spend it with all the grandmothers.” Richie smarts off. _

_ Stan looks up with sad eyes. “Do you think we will still be friends? When we are older?” _

_ “What?” Richie raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t we?” _

_ “Do your parents hang out with any of their friends from Middle School?” Bev asks, blowing out her smoke. _

_ “Things might be different then.” Stan looks at her. “We all might be different.” _

_ “We’ll all still be friends. I don’t think that g-g-goes away just because we get older.” Bill stutters slightly as usual. _

_ “Yeah, Stan. Come on. As long as we keep hanging out like we do now, it won’t be a problem.” I smile at him softly. _

_ “You’re older than us, Emily. It’s different for you.” Stan sighs. _

_ I shrug at his words. “I don’t care. You guys are my friends. Younger or not. I can’t let you guys get into too much trouble.” _

_ I look up and my eyes meet Ben’s in an innocent action, but my heart knows it’s more.  _

The memory quickly fades when Stan smiles widely. “Guys…”

I glance up at the same time as everyone else as he hands Bill a pack of cigarettes. The exact pack from the memory. I giggle before leaning against Ben more. 

“Looks like she snuck into Stan’s can of caps.” I bite my bottom lip.

“She was way before her time.” Ben looks down at me. “Always acting like an adult.”

“I wonder what she was like as an adult.” Eddie mumbles.

“Same as a kid.” I answer him.

“The best.” Bill says before tossing me the pack of cigarettes.

I catch them and take a look at them. I shake my head with a small smile and hold them at my side. Richie looks away from me to look at Mike.

“Okay, Mike. What are we doing here, man?”

“The ritual. To perform it requires a sacrifice.” He informs us.

“For a sacrifice, I nominate Eddie.” Richie points at the man he’s talking about.

“Wait, what?” Eddie’s head snaps up.

“You’re little, you can fit on a BBQ.” Richie shrugs.

“I’m like 5’9’’. It’s an average height for most of the world…” He walks by Richie before pointing at me. “I nominate Emily. She’s smaller.”

“Hell no!” Ben and Richie shout at the same time.

“It’s not that kind of s-sacrifice, guys.” Bill speaks up. “Mike…”

“The past is buried, but you’re gonna have to dig it out. Piece by piece. And these pieces...these artifacts...That’s why we are here. They are the sacrifices. And since Bev isn’t here to find hers. I think we should all be together to find her artifact.” Mike explains.

“I think Stanley has already found it.” I speak, holding up Bev’s cigarettes. “Can we get out of here? It’s getting kind of stuffy.”

“I think that’s an amazing idea.” Eddie nods fast. “I think there’s mold down here.”

One by one we all exit the clubhouse with Ben being last with Mike’s help. He walks over to me as I sit next to Bill on a rock. 

“Okay, Mike. Where do we find our tokens?” Eddie looks over at him.

“I have to be honest, with all due respect, this is fucking stupid. Why do we need tokens? WE already remember everything. Saving Emily, defeating it. I mean we’re caught up.” Richie crosses his arms. 

“That's not everything. We fought but what happened after that? Before the house on Neibolt street? Think.” Mike says.

“We c-c-can’t remember, can we?” Bill asks, glancing at me before standing.

“See, there’s more to our story, what happened that summer. And those blank spaces, like pages torn from a book...That’s what you have to find. We need to split up. Each of you need to find your artifacts alone. That’s important, and when you do, see me at the library tonight.” Mike looks at each of us.

“I should point out that from a statistical point of view….We have a better chance of survival as a group.” Eddie mumbles.

“Yeah, splitting up would be dumb, man. We gotta go together.” Richie glances at me as I rub my knee as a sharp pain shoots through it. “Or even let Emily go with one of us. I don’t want her going alone. We were together during that summer, right?”

“No!” Bill speaks up as he walks toward Mike. “Not the w-w-w-whole summer.”

I gasp as a memory shoots through my mind once again.

_ Bill brings his fist up and punches Richie in the face, causing him to fall down. Stanley runs over to him with Eddie. _

_ “Bill!” I scream. _

_ He glares down at Richie but looks up at me. _

_ “Don’t you fucking touch him. You’re fucking lucky I broke my goddamn leg for Eddie, or I’d kick your ass! Hit him again and I swear on everything in me, I will fucking kill you myself. Do you hear me? Richie and I will not be going back into that goddamn house.” I yell, trying to move to him again, but Mike holds me back. _

_ Bill’s glare doesn’t lessen. “Y-Y-You barely even like him!” _

_ “I love that boy with everything I fucking have!” I yell. “He’s my blood and I’m trying to protect my family. You can go in if you want to and get killed but that was way too much for us.” _

_ “You’re just a bunch of losers!” Richie stands up, moving toward Bill again. _

_ Mike moves me to Eddie’s side, gently and quickly grabs onto Richie to stop him with Stanley. Bill goes for him and Ben grabs onto him. _

_ “You’re all going to get yourselves killed!” Richie yells. “I’m getting my sister the fuck out of here!” _

_ “Richie, enough is enough!” Bev yells to him. _

_ “They are losers, and they are going to kill themselves while trying to catch a clown!” Richie snaps. _

_ “Enough!” Bev puts her arms out between them. “That’s what IT wants!” _

_ “Yeah, that’s why we’re still alive…and I plan on keeping it that way.” Richie turns toward Mike and points to me. _

_ He helps me into Mike’s arms. _

_ “Mike?” Bev says. _

_ “I’m with Emily on this. I can’t do it.” He turns and starts following Eddie. _

_ Eddie quickly gets on his bike and starts to ride toward his house. I look over Mike’s shoulder toward the group as I tear. Stanley follows along with Richie. Ben grabs my bike and starts walking with it. _

_ “Ben?” Bev whispers. _

_ “Emily almost died.” He looks over. “I got cut open again. I’m not risking our health for this.”  _

_ He grabs his own bike and walks them after us. The only one standing with Bill…is Bev. I look away. _

I stand up from my spot on the rock and glare at Bill.

“You hit my brother that day. My leg ain’t broken now.” 

I step toward him, but Richie quickly wraps an arm around my waist pulling me toward him. I shake my head and turn around in his arms. He pulls me tighter against him as he hugs me close. I see out of the corner of my eye, Ben looks at me with sadness before looking at Mike.

“I’m with Richie on this. I don’t want to leave Emily by herself. IT can come and...I’d feel better if…” He starts.

“If he and I were together…” I mumble against Richie’s chest.

Mike shakes his head as he speaks. “You can start out together but you have to find your artifacts alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters with Gifs are posted on Tumblr. Same username.


End file.
